Not sure where at start, but you guys know most of this adventure already. We are just super happy w how this entire hunt went, passed up around 10 bulls that I can remember, went from 80+ degrees to zero in the hills. Josh Judd our guide for this trip thankfully bought a sided by side w tracks just before the season started, no way we get this bull w/out that machine! When you go into an area with 20+ inches of snow (30+ when it fell) and there are zero human tracks, you feel like a kid in a candy store! The day we showed up at Josh’s house we got settled in and for the afternoon hunt we went to an area where that morning he had seen a good bull and was on one of his many cameras. We tried tracking him in the snow for a ways but he went into some thick blow down crap, and the snow at times was thigh deep. We decided to keep hunting on the SS (side by side) and cover ground. Didn’t see any bulls that night.
The bull he had seen earlier was one of our target bulls that he had on camera, we didn’t know at the time that he would come back into our lives. So the next morning we head to a different area, right away we see a cow way off. We get up the mountain, thanks to the SS and around a corner we see two bulls standing there about 150 yards away! As we get set up, the bulls start pushing each other around on the road, I thought paddles might drop! Well, when the wife was ready (1 hour later, ok maby 1 minute, but waiting for an unexperienced hunter is painful!) a stupid cow came up on the road and blocked the shot! I was thinking at that moment, we are screwed because cows always seem to run off and take their men with them! Well, that’s what she did! We run up the road when they got out of sight and by the time we saw them they were up the hill and getting into some trees. Turns out there were 3 bulls with the cow, and she was the shooter bulls savior, that and my wife hasn’t spent a lot of time behind my gun….
We set up for a shot and the shooter bull turns broadside in a small opening, BOOM. The bull just stands there, the cow starts running and all the bulls follow, Josh got them to stop one more time but another clear miss! She was pretty bummed w herself, but I reminded her just how many animals I have missed when I started hunting. Josh confirmed there was no blood in the tracks. Saw a couple more cows that morning, did some hiking until I couldn’t feel my toes anymore, pain! That afternoon we went back and had a great lunch, reloaded my bullet carrier and took a quick nap! Josh decided on a different area for the late afternoon hunt, it’s tough to decide where to go when you have 40 different places in mind! But he picked well! We again are bombing around in the SS and got to an area w zero human sign, I’m telling you I absolutely felt this was the place we were gonna kill a bull. I kept that thought to myself though. Right around 3:30pm, we go around a corner and there is a good bull standing ABOVE the road (that always helps!) and he’s about 100 or less yards away, Josh says shooter!! We get out quickly and the wife gets set, much faster this time because she told me earlier she wanted to redeem herself, she did! She gets set and the bull starts to walk away in the semi tree covered hill side, Josh stops the bull w a cow moan, BOOM! The .300 win mag barked!! The bull takes a step back then walks about 10 feet and stops, we get ready for a second shot and he falls! Well, I’m glad he fell because the wife was in no shape for a second shot if needed, she managed to scope herself pretty darn good! Blood was poring out, Josh and I were trying to tend to her and keep an eye on the bull at the same time, it was pretty hectic for a minute. Once we knew the bull was dead, after some clean up and sturry strips applied, we walked up to her bull. A lot of bulls have a strong side and weaker side when it comes to paddles, I saw the weaker side first and was second guessing the kill, but as the other side showed itself, I was very happy! She was blown away, beyond happy. We drug the moose to the road, that deep snow came in handy!! Hugged, high fives, pics and then Josh got to work. It was the first time someone other than me took our animal apart, but that was part of the deal and I really didn’t mind at all. It only took about two hours to break it down and get it in the SS. Just as we were almost done, Josh says, “hey pull out your phone and look at those trail cam picks I sent you”. Sure enough, this was our bull he saw the day we got there and tried to go after, he went 2.5 miles over mountains and cliffs in less than 24 hours! Awesome day!! Couldn’t recommend Josh at Archery Outfitters enough, the kid (he’s 28) knows his stuff, he knows moose and where they like to go! Great guy. Well, sorry for the long story, there more to say but I know you guys want pics, lol. Thanks for following along, I feel like we did the tag justice, these OIL are something special, it’s too bad not everyone can have an opportunity like we have, truly blessed.
